Franchitti wins Indianapolis 500 for third time after Sato crashes

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Dario Franchitti on Sunday afternoon won the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500, and he will soon have his likeness featured on either side of the late Dan Wheldon's on the BorgWarner Trophy.

Franchitti emerged from a terrific battle with Takuma Sato, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan to triumph in the Indianapolis 500 for a third time.

Franchitti also won the 2010 race, giving his face the spots on the trophy around Wheldon, who won last year.

The Scotsman got the job done by holding on in turn one as Sato went for the lead on the final lap and then crashed. Sato was trying to become the first Japanese driver to win the prestigious race, but he put his car down low on the track, losing control and almost eliminating Franchitti in the process.

However, Franchitti kept his Target Chip Ganassi Racing car steady as Sato got loose and spun. The race finished under caution, with Dixon and Kanaan finishing in second and third, respectively. Franchitti is now the 10th driver with at least three wins here.

The race was spectacularly competitive, with a record number of lead changes (35 among 10 drivers). Behind the top three, Oriol Servia finished fourth, and pole winner Ryan Briscoe fifth.

“Dan had his three closest friends battling for the win today,” Kanaan said. “I knew one of us was going to get it.”

Sato almost did. Franchitti said he just held on as Sato crashed.

“I didn't expect Sato to go for it [there],” Dixon said.

The race was held on one of the hottest days in 500 history: 91 degrees, one degree short of the record in 1937.

The two Lotus-powered cars, driven by Simona De Silvestro and Indy rookie and ex-Formula One driver Jean Alesi, didn't last long in the race with a lack of horsepower. Running lap speeds of about only 200 mph, Izod IndyCar Series officials black flagged them on lap nine, deeming them a danger to other drivers because of their slow pace. De Silvestro immediately adhered to the black flag; Alesi completed another lap.

On lap 14, USAC champion Bryan Clauson, a rookie in the 500 thanks to IndyCar's Mazda Road to Indy program, spun in turn one. Much like Danny Sullivan in 1985, he managed to keep the car off the wall before coming to a stop. He came to pit road for new tires.

Franchitti had trouble during the ensuing caution. Just prior to turning into his pit box, he took rear contact from E.J. Viso. But it could have been worse: Franchitti didn't hit anything except for a tire laid out for J.R. Hildebrand. The Ganassi Racing crew changed out the front wing assembly and sent him on his way. He restarted 29th. Viso was not penalized because chief steward Beaux Barfield deemed it a racing accident.

Also on that pit stop, rookie Josef Newgarden stalled his car, and Sebastian Saavedra was flagged for speeding.

On Mike Conway's 79th lap, he came to pit road under green, but he missed his mark and slid the car into three crew members, including the fueler. One of the crew members rolled over the front wing, damaging it. The team regrouped and sent Conway back out, but the wing was compromised. That set up trouble.

In turn one, Conway lost control getting up to speed and spun to the wall. But that's where series points leader Will Power's car was headed, and Power drove into the back of Conway, launching him in the air.

It was the second time in three years that Conway got up into the fence, although this one was a much better ride. The top of his car rode along the wall before coming back down on its wheels. Heavily damaged, Power's car ricocheted to the inside wall where it came to a stop. Somehow, Helio Castroneves narrowly missed a bouncing tire; it grazed the top of his right front tire.

Just after the restart, Ana Beatriz lost control in turn one, sending her into the wall. Ed Carpenter was trailing, scraped the wall and somehow missed the Andretti Autosport car.

Marco Andretti crashed on lap 188, ending his strong run that at one point looked like it could finally end the Andretti curse at the Speedway. Like Ed Carpenter a few laps before him, Andretti got too low entering turn one, sending him to the outside wall. But whereas Carpenter spun without contact, Andretti pounded the wall with the right side of the car. He was uninjured in the crash.